Scripture Reading: Judges 4:1-9
“And Barak said to her, ‘If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!’”—Judges 4:8
During the age of the Judges, Israel would descend into periodic cycles of sin, which resulted in them being oppressed by a neighboring people until they repented. This time, Israel’s sin led to 20 years of bondage under Jabin, king of Canaan. When Israel cried out to God, Deborah, the Israelite prophetess and judge, called for Barak and prophesied God would deliver Sisera, the Canaanite commander, into his hand. Instead of accepting this call on its own merit, Barak refused to go on the military campaign unless Deborah accompanied him. Deborah agreed to go but foretold the glory that was to be Barak’s would go to another.
Perhaps Barak was being chivalrous, courteous or deferential to the religious leadership by refusing to go into battle without Deborah. Maybe he was afraid to perform the task alone. Possibly, he considered the prophetess a strategic advisor or good luck charm for the mission. Perhaps Barak placed his faith in the messenger proclaiming God’s call on his life instead of trusting the God who issued the call.
Was Barak guilty of misplaced faith? That is, did he have faith in the messenger of God instead of having faith in the God of the messenger? If he did, it is not an uncommon phenomenon. Sometimes, we can get caught up in the charisma and personality of the individual messenger. In other instances, we seek some material representation of the divine to feed our human need to touch God, and the messenger of God becomes a god or the symbol of God in our hearts and minds.
Not that we should discount or diminish the role of those who are called to minister the word of God. Scripture reminds us, “And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those whopreach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’”—Romans 10:15. Those who serve as the instrument to present the message of God to us are to be esteemed for the work they do. Theirs is the greatest responsibility in the world, proclaiming the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
How could Barak and how can we avoid going down that path of misplaced faith? Simply by concentrating on the message of God and not the messenger of God. When the message becomes the centerpiece of our attention, we are positioned to hear what God has to say. We are able to enter into true communion with The Almighty to discern the divine vision ordained for our lives.
When God has a message that is truly designed for us specifically, that message is too valuable to be lost in translation. Listen to what God is saying. Respect and give thanks for the messenger for their obedience to conveying the truth. But keep our faith placed in the one who authored the message to us.
Question to Ponder: When God speaks, are we focused on the message or the messenger?
“It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.”—Psalm 118:8
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